Social Media News Round-Up: 01/10/21
What’s new in social media marketing this week?
🤳 TikTok announces new updates to its Creator Marketplace in first TikTok World event
👨👧 Facebook pauses ‘Instagram for Kids’ plans
📈 TikTok reaches a billion monthly active users
🎤 Twitter launches live test of topics in Spaces
💸 YouTube expands its Shorts Fund to 30 more countries
🎞️ Facebook launches ‘Reels on Facebook’ in the US
💰 Instagram announces ‘Reels Play’ bonus for creators
👨💻 Twitter for Professionals officially launches
TikTok announces new updates to its Creator Marketplace in first TikTok World event
This week, TikTok held its first TikTok World event which showcased how its features could be used by businesses. The platform also announced a range of new features, including new advertising and branded content partnership options. One of these features is an updated Creator Marketplace which includes more performance insight and better filtering tools to help brands find the right influencers for their campaigns. In addition, the platform announced a new Creator Marketplace API which enables third-party platforms to provide more insight into TikTok creator performance.
Facebook pauses ‘Instagram for Kids’ plans
After it was leaked that Facebook knew about Instagram’s negative impact on young people’s mental health, the platform has announced it will be pausing its plans for an ‘Instagram for Kids’. In a statement, Facebook said it “firmly believe[s] that it’s better for parents to have the option to give their children access to a version of Instagram that is designed for them - where parents can supervise and control their experience.” However experts and officials, including a coalition of child safety groups, have consistently raised concerns about the plans for an Instagram for kids, highlighting the psychological harm and “relentless focus on appearance, self-presentation, and branding” the platform incites.
TikTok reaches a billion monthly active users
In its latest milestone, TikTok has officially reached a billion monthly active users. Since launching in 2016, the platform has seen incredible growth, going from 54 million users at the start of 2018 to one billion less than 4 years later. And with a growing number of eCommerce capabilities and creator options, its growth is only set to continue.
Twitter launches live test of topics in Spaces
Twitter has launched a live test of topic tags in Spaces which will better enable the platform to showcase relevant Spaces to users and broaden the reach of its audio rooms. When creating or scheduling a Space, some Android users will now have access to the topics test and be able to choose up to 3 topics to describe their Space.
YouTube expands its Shorts Fund to 30 more countries
After the successful rollout of its Shorts Fund earlier this year, YouTube is now expanding it to creators in 30 more countries, including Canada, Italy, South Korea, and more. The fund encourages YouTube creators to create and engage with its short-form video feature Shorts, paying out between $100 and $10,000 to channels each month based on their performance.
Facebook launches ‘Reels on Facebook’ in the US
Facebook has expanded its Reels feature, previously only available on Instagram, to its more than 250 million US Facebook users. Interestingly, Reels on Facebook will not only appear on the news feed and on Pages, but in Groups as well, which may improve its chances of popularity on the platform. In addition, Facebook is keen to stress that Reels on Facebook can provide the same potential for internet virality as TikTok, with its own short-form videos able to “reach everyone, not just your existing followers”.
Instagram announces ‘Reels Play’ bonus for creators
In a recent post on its dedicated @creators page, Instagram announced it’s expanding its Reels bonus incentive, rolling out ‘Reels Play’. Click through the post below to learn more 👇
Twitter for Professionals officially launches
In the last year, Twitter has been introducing new ways for professionals to “enrich their experiences” on the platform. As it continues to test and expand upon these features, it’s now created one central experience where professionals on Twitter can get access to all of the tools it’s designing. Click here to read Twitter’s full announcement, and click here to find out more about how to convert your account into a professional profile.
